Friday, August 6, 2010

My Kinda-Sorta-But-Not-Really Anniversay Post.

I started this blog sometime in the ass end of 2008 with the intention of just writing and posting about anything and everything. Whether it was about what I did that day, something cool I saw online, or just what I was feeling at that particular moment. You can call it narcissism if you want, but I thought it'd be fun so that's exactly what I did. I posted a lot of random things those first few months (hey, I had a lot of free time on my hands).

Eventually, I ran into a problem: I realized that no body cared. No body knew who I was. No one had an interest in what I was posting. I wasn't doing anything exciting, different, new or ground breaking. No one was reading this shit.

And I know having a blog is something you should enjoy doing for yourself, otherwise, what's the point? It's not like I'm making any money off this site. But at the same time, why bother posting anything at all if no one's going to read it?

So I re-thought this whole blog thing. Should I just scrap it and let it drift into the sea of other abandoned blogs that never posted anything past month two? Or should I just change direction?

Obviously, I chose the latter. I went back and deleted most of my non-sensical, random posts about nothing in particular, keeping only the ones I kinda liked. And since I needed an outlet for all the pent up frustration I've accumulated from whatever little work I got, turning "The Hills Are Burning" into an Industry blog seemed like a fitting choice.

And sometime after that, thanks to Michael Taylor and some Google Search hits, I have all you wonderful people visiting this site.

Anyway, I don't know what would be considered the "real" anniversary of this blog since it kind of changed directions once or twice. But it seems like August of last year is when it started to take off a bit, so I say let's pretend that's when this site was really born.

So thanks for following me for a whole freakin' year!

On that note, I thought I'd celebrate this feat by sharing with you the first page from my journal (yes, the pen and paper kind). I shit you not, this is word for word and somewhat embarrassing. Looking back on it, it feels like it was written by a dramatic tween on Livejournal or something.

For a while now, I've wanted to start a blog and title it "Perpetually Sitting In Traffic" of "The Hills Are Pretty When They Burn" or something like that. I felt like I had all these stories to tell and no one to tell them to. But on second thought, I had no idea on how to make a web page look cool or how to get a page that people might actually read. Then I started to worry about remaining anonymous and how that should/could work if someone I knew ever stumbled up on it and recognized me through my writing and stories. And what if no one read it? I would still have all these stories to tell and no one to tell them to only now I'd have a lame looking web page. Then I saw a TV news report on how Anna Nicole Smith was dead and how there were already a number of homemade tribute videos to her and her son on YouTube. It reminded me of how everyone can be their own filmmaker these days due to computers and digital stuff, which is good, but also means more competition/less jobs for me. Especially since I'm more old-school and prefer film over video. Then it got me thinking about how everyone and their mother has their own blog. So I decided to keep a journal instead. People seem to be forgetting the many uses for a pen and paper these days. Sure, what I have to say won't be out there for everyone to read, but at least I know there's an actual record of them somewhere and I not just a bunch of ones and zeros going through some cable lines. I just hope I don't lose this damn thing and that I'll actually keep writing in it.

8 comments
:

Hey I've been following your blog for a good amount of time, and while I do not comment often, I wanna am one of those silent readers, who thoroughly enjoy hearing your rants and perspective on the industry.Happy Anniversary!

"The Hills Are Burning" became an Industry blog the day you turned the corner to make it so, and that was one year ago. Your blog didn't need any help to attract so many readers -- it was (and remains) the eloquent honesty of your writing, your smart, sensitive insights, and sharp prose that keeps me and so many others coming back for more.

It's a good thing you're so young, because I'm counting on reading your writing long after I've turned out my own Hollywood lights and returned to the home planet for good.

You should be proud, because you've done one hell of a job here. Congratulations on a terrific first year -- and Happy Anniversary.

I found your website through Michaels, and I found Michaels through D's website.As Michael says - Its the well written, well thought out, interesting material in here that keeps us coming back - Happy Anniversary.

i've only posted once or twice on your blog but i've continued to followed your blog for several months now. I linked "Hills" from "dollygrippery" and your honesty and insights are outstanding. I only wish I had the discipline to write down my set stories and going's on, but alas, I end up forgetting most of them and being reminded through co-working months and years later. Good work, you'll have a great insight to your life and thought process later in life. Keep writing, we'll keep reading.

Your blog is fantastic - I know this is an old post but feel the comments most appropriate here. Thank you for putting into words the thoughts and observations that I think many of us notice out there in the trenches. Every post is both educational and entertaining. Keep it up. Hope we cross paths someday.